


The Forever Fall Encounter

by orphan_account, RougemageNick



Series: Just a RWBY OS full of OCs... [10]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-24
Updated: 2014-06-24
Packaged: 2018-02-06 02:38:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1841233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account, https://archiveofourown.org/users/RougemageNick/pseuds/RougemageNick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finally over their differences and hatred, Team JNAS is feeling stronger than ever. But on a field trip in the Forever Fall, the team will face something that will test the limits of their strength. Even now, even together, how will they overcome this great challenge.......</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Forever Fall Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> ATTENTION. FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO SEE THE ARTWORK, UNFORTUNATELY, AT THE REQUEST OF OUR ARTIST, IT HAS BEEN REMOVED FOR THE TIME BEING. I WILL LET YOU KNOW IF/WHEN WE ARE ABLE TO REPOST THE ART. I APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.

The Forever Fall Encounter:

It had been four days since Jay could stand from his wheelchair, and since then, it seemed that everything had been going right for the team. With Sasha speaking again, everyone was in high spirits, and with Jay back as co-team leader off of suspension, things moved smoothly for them all. Jay was terrific with planning, and with him no longer being at war with Sasha, the whole team felt a sense of togetherness that helped them everyday. Jay began assisting with homework after proving his earlier statement of the work being easy to be true. The whole team was shocked that Jay never had to try to do well. Nick and Jay worked well in combat classes over that time, quickly being able to pick up on signals and motions. Anna and Sasha had practiced with eachother to do the same, with this, the entire team gained a unity. After the four days, it was announced that they'd be taking their first trip into the Forever Fall to collect sap. Jay wondered what the purpose of such a pointless activity was, but it was a request from a professor at the school, so he reluctantly agreed to it. On the bright side, they were told that they could keep any extras they brought back with them. The whole team got their stuff ready for the trip the night before, and they were told to bring their combat clothes, as this would be a trip into Grimm territory. Nick couldn't wait, and all night, joked that he'd go back that day for the head of the Manticore. Jay rolled his eyes and didn't think about it, instead just going to sleep. The next morning he woke himself up at the same time Nick would get up, so they could be ready in what he described as a "timely fashion." After an hour of preparing, they left to go meet the other first years at the path out to the Forever Fall on the far side of the school. They all stood impatiently as Ms. Goodwitch explained the protocol of these trips, and waited for everyone who was going to arrive. When finally Ms. Goodwitch counted everyone as present, they set off towards the Forever Fall. As they left, a couple of school officials handed out boxes filled with the jars they'd be using for sap. When they arrived at the Forever Fall border, they found two more Professors waiting. They were to be split into groups and go with one of the three professors. Team JNAS was told to go with Professor Oobleck, who still carried a mug of coffee in his hands, and appeared to have also brought a thermos. The whole team could venture a guess as to what it contained....He lead them off into the forest with two other teams, and Anna recognized the girl with the large rabbit ears....Cardin had picked on her constantly, and it's very lucky Sasha hadn't been there at those times. But the other team, None of them really knew. They walked through the woods, until Oobleck had picked a spot. He started rambling at high speeds about staying with your partners and don't run off and probably a bunch of other stuff they couldn't even make out through the frequent sips of coffee and the odd dashing this way and that.

Jay took two of the jars and one of the sap spiles, and with Nick, who'd taken four jars, walked over to one of the trees. Sasha and Anna did the same, and took four jars with them. He handed Nick the spile, and without a word, Nick drove it into the tree. These types of trees were full of a watery sweet sap that didn't take long to flow from the spile. Jay held one of the jars under the spile. After about 10 minutes, they'd filled all the jars. Sasha and Anna walked over as they were filling the last.

"I feel like we should get more of this..." Anna said, staring at the inside of one of her jars.

"Well this sap can be processed quite easily.....and I know a few recipes for preserves and syrup...If we got enough, we could make quite a few great desserts with this." Jay spoke, smiling at the sap they'd collected.

Nick rolled his eyes, "Of course you can cook. How. Why." He said, a little bothered.

"Oh, well-"

Sasha interrupted him as he started, "Yes yes, you learned to cook 'in your travels,' we know...." she said, putting 'in your travels' in air quotes.

Jay frowned, "You jealous?" He said simply. Sasha also rolled her eyes. Then he looked over at Nick, who'd started to walk around at random. Jay followed after him, "Nick, where are you going?"

Nick looked back at him as he walked, "Nowhere in particular. Sometimes I do that. Is that a problem?" Jay didn't respond. Anna and Sasha followed after them. Nick wasn't an idiot, and didn't intend to go very far from the group. He walked in a large circle around the trees, returning to the spot they started in. Jay stopped and stood against one of the trees. Nick continued walking though. Anna stopped and looked back at him. He didn't look up, and after a moment's consideration, she stopped and decided to stay back with him, since they had been told to stay in teams. She walked over and leaned on the tree next to him. Jay didn't look at her, and didn't seem to notice she was standing there.

After a moment, he suddenly spoke up to her, and she nearly fell over, "Why didn't you go walk around with Nick and Sasha? We've got a while to wait our here, it'd be best if you walked around...."

She composed herself before speaking, "Oh....Um....We were told to stay in groups, so I thought I should stay back so that we wouldn't get in trouble..."

"I know saying it won't change it, but you're oddly shy, aren't you...." Anna stuttered a moment. "That answers that, I suppose. You don't have a reason to be. We're teammates, and we should treat eachother as such. You're our friend here. So perhaps you should consider being less reserved..." Jay told her, matter-of-factly. Anna considered this a moment. She knew he was right, and that she should be more out-going, especially with her teammates. 

Nick and Sasha kept walking. Sasha turned around and noticed Anna had gone back. So she turned and caught up with Nick.

"I think Anna went back to stay with Jay..."

Nick snickered, "Is that so?" Then he stopped, and his smile vanished as he realized this left him and Sasha alone. Nick kept walking, trying not to make this too unbearable. He couldn't think of anything to say. Sasha just walked along, seeming to be interested in the world around them. Nick tried to speak up, "So.....This place sure is pretty....It's a shame that it's full of deadly soulless monsters....It'd be a great place for a picnic...." He stuttered the words, worrying she'd think something weird about him.

Sasha nodded, "Yeah.....Then again, I think I'd be happy just having a picnic anyway....Those creatures don't bother me....I'd just drop them and continue my meal...Ya' know?" Sasha sounded confident in her abilities to do so.

Nick smiled inside, "Sounds good to me....I think it'd be nicer to just go out and kill some things.....The picnic is fine and all, but only after I got tired of cutting off heads...." He finished.

Nick was trying to mirror Sasha's confidence, but it didn't sound to him like it was working. Sasha looked over at him, and he tried his best to stay composed, "That  **does** sound pretty good......Hm. You're a pretty good team-leader. I'd say you were better than Jay....Leading to much with his head...He doesn't appear to have any comprehension of emotions.....Nothing but thought, that one. You on the other hand, you lead with your instinct. More often than not, the first instinct we have is the right one. You also don't stick to routine, which is good....Who wants to spend their life, day after day doing the same exact thing......That sounds like an awful existence..." Sasha finished her speech, and Nick couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of pride.

He could only mutter for a moment before speaking up, "Thanks.....That's real nice to hear. Not....Not many people have that kind of opinion of me.....They see this arm of mine and it kinda....It makes them see me as something less. They think of it as something to pity....'That poor guy....He must have been in a terrible accident....He must have a difficult life...' But no.....The way I see it, I've got things pretty good." Nick said. For some reason, even though he felt like this was awkward, he felt things weren't going terribly. They continued walking for a minute or two in silence, not feeling like they needed to say much. But then, they came back to the tree where Anna and Jay should have been.....And they were gone.

* * *

 

Nick and Sasha ran over to the group. They asked one of the teams if they'd seen Jay and Anna, but none of them had.

They were then approached by professor Oobleck, who spoke at a rapid pace, and apparently without conscious control of volume, "WHAT IS ALL THE COMMOTION ABOUT!!" Sasha flinched a little and looked slowly over at Nick with an annoyed expression.

Nick was the one to ask, "You haven't happened to see our teammates, have you? Jay and Anna? An arrogant redhead in glasses and a long black coat, probably accompanied by a shy faunus girl in black clothes, purple hair, and cat ears?..."

Oobleck's hand twitched, "NO, I HAVEN'T SEEN THEM!! IT WOULD BE DREADFUL IF THEY'VE WONDERED OFF!! THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS PLACE!!" Nick couldn't cover his ears and look rude to the professor....But he chuckled in his head, 'Didn't Jay travel through the Forever Fall during his time abroad? And with Anna with him, they could handle anything.' But still....If they ran into something in high numbers, who knew what could happen....

Nick flinched as his thoughts were interrupted by Oobleck's shouting, "AS THEIR TEAMMATES, IT IS UP TO YOU TO GO FIND THEM AND RETURN THEM ALIVE!! I HAVE FAITH THAT YOU WILL COMPLETE THIS TASK, OR RISK EXPULSION TRYING!!" Nick looked at Sasha, and they quickly ran back to the spot where Anna and Jay had been. They looked around for a minute looking for a sign of there direction. The constant fall of the scarlet leaves made it difficult, but after a moment, Sasha tapped Nick's shoulder and pointed North East, where disturbances in the leaves by the wind revealed crushed leaves, leaving a slightly darker outline of where their feet were stamping as they dashed off into the forest. Nick and Sasha began sprinting into the woods after their teammates.

Jay didn't stop moving, nor did he even consider slowing down. Anna followed, keeping up without too much difficulty, but still...She wasn't even sure why they were jogging through the woods. Jay had apparently spotted something and immediately had bolted after it. Jay finally stopped, and Anna, having not seen him do so, rammed right into him at nearly full tilt. He didn't stumble, but she did, nearly falling over, but Jay, just as fast as he had stopped, turned on his right heel and caught her before she fell. He sighed and pulled her to her feet, where she found herself inches from him.

She thought she could feel the heat in her cheeks, when Jay took a quick step back, "Last time you fell over after we bumped into eachother, I ended up in a wheelchair.....I'd prefer it not happen again." he stated, keeping a straight face.

Anna calmed her nerves and laughed a little, "Yeah, that would be....Awful.....S-sorr-"

" **Don't**......Say it. I know what you were about to say, and it's not necessary. It's now past. Forget it." he said, turning to look around the clearing they'd come to. Anna looked around, trying to see anything out of place.

She frowned after a minute, unable to see it, "Uh.....Jay.....What are we here for?..." She asked reluctantly.

"I saw a bug..." Jay said without looking back. Anna's mouth dropped.

"A.....A bug?.....Is...Is that really the reason you dashed out in to the woods so suddenly?! A tiny insect?! Is this a joke?!" Anna's voice was rising out of shock. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. He had scared her, ran off into dangerous territory...In pursuit of a bug.

Jay's eyes widened as he turned back to Anna, "Wha-No!! Not a bug. Not a living bug at least. I didn't see an insect, I saw a machine. A bug."

Anna considered this, and decided it didn't make it any better, "Yes....The forest is full of mobile camera bugs.....Beacon keeps the-"

"No, not one of Beacons....They included a picture of a bug from Beacon in the handbook, in case a student came across one while out on one of these trips...That wasn't one of the Beacon models....." Anna still wasn't convinced. Maybe it was her hear pounding from the sudden scare and run here....Or maybe it was.....

"Maybe they got an upgrade?..." she asked, trying to help find an answer.

"Perhaps......But.....I suppose there's only one way to know for sure...." Jay whispered as he walked slowly through the clearing. Anna began following him at a steady pace, next to Jay.

She looked around, before realizing something, and turning to Jay, "What did it look like?" she whispered.

"Silver.....Round.....Rings of fire and wind dust to keep it moving." he said without taking his gaze from the field around them. Something was not right here. Suddenly, Sasha and Nick came crashing through the trees at full speed, stopping short of them and breathing deeply for a few seconds.

Nick stood to his full height, "WHAT THE FUCK, JAY?!? YOU'RE ALONE WITH ANNA FOR THREE MINUTES AND YOU DITCH US?!?"

Jay frowned, "I don't think I like your implications. I ran off because I saw something that should not have been there, and Anna ran after so we don't get in trouble."

Sasha's eyes widened, and she pinched the bridge of her nose with impatience before Nick spoke again, ".......Dude....Think about how this looks......You ran off into the woods.......With a girl. A girl on your team. Can you see how a professor might.....MISINTERPRET THAT?!?" Nick shouted. Anna turned away, feeling her face become red.

Jay remained composed, "You don't. Need. To shout." He enunciated his words in a low volume.

Sasha looked up, "You know, even if that isn't what you were doing, which I'm not completely convinced of, you still ran off....Into dangerous territory. Do you even  **have** a good reason?" she asked sounding as if her patience was nonexistent.

"I saw a monitor bug that was not of Beacon origin....We're being watched. We're being watched by something that  **isn't** Beacon...." Nick's face turned serious. Now that it was brought to his attention, his gut told him that they  _were_ being watched.....Even.....Right at that moment....

* * *

 

The team stood, looking around the clearing. Nothing appeared to be out of place.....It was quite a perfect silence. There weren't any sounds of birds or Grimm. Just the light soft crumple of the leaves under their feet as they turned and moved through the clearing, unsure of what they were even looking for. Nick then looked down at his feet. Something looked odd. The team spread out. Sasha began to squint, as it became more difficult to see through the fog. Then her eyes widened. She waved her hand through the fog that had suddenly rolled in from the forest. It moved like smoke around her fingers, and waved in the pattern of her motion. Nick was staring at the fog in worry, Anna in wonder, Jay in analysis. Jay had let his eyes turn gold, but something wasn't right.....This fog was hard to see through. He began to rub at his eyes under his glasses, trying to rub the blur from his eyes. But the more he stared, the harder it became to discern any signatures or make up of the fog.

Anna turned to Jay, "What is this?....Can you tell with those eyes of yours?" Nick didn't turn, just waited for Jay to speak.

Jay waved his hands through the fog in absent curiosity, "I'm......I'm not really sure.....It's........Foggy."

Nick turned to him, "You don't say, fuckface...."

Jay shook his head, "No, not.....You idiot. I mean it's.....I can't......My vision isn't working right. I can't see correctly. Whatever this is.....I can't an-........." Jay stopped short. His eyes widened in terror. "Oh my gods......." Anna looked over, a little surprised, as did Sasha.

"Uh....What?" Nick asked, arching his brow.

"Jay, is something wrong?" Anna asked, worried at what the answer would be. Everyone in the team was shocked when they looked over at Jay and saw him speechless, with his eyes wide in worry.

"We have to get out of here...." he muttered.

Just then, a voice sounded above the silence, "It's far too late for that...." the voice came from a man, as far as they could tell. Everyone turned and looked around, the sound was echoing around them, and they couldn't find the source. Laughter came next. This came from a woman. Jay backed up, until he came to a tree. He gritted his teeth and the world became clear again as he deactivated his Semblance. Now he understood.

"This fog.....It's cutting off our Semblance....We stand here, unaware, for a few minutes, while the poison seeps into our skin through this fog.....Until we're left without our special abilities......." Jay closed his eyes....He felt he might as well have been blind. Jay opened his eyes again, as the fog began to fade from the clearing. He walked over to the other members of the team, who had walked together to stand back to back. Then, they walked out of the forest. One from the north, one from the west. Nick and Anna, who were standing facing away from the strangers, moved to stand next to their teammates. The woman was average height, with blonde hair up in a ponytail. Her shirt was black, with light blue patterns across the front and long sleeves. Her pants were long and white, with bell bottoms. She wore a smug grin, and began to walk forward to meet in the clearing with the man. The man, was large and strong looking, with scruffy gray hair. His black shirt was sleeveless, with gray borders. He wore simple jeans with heavy looking brown combat boots. He carried with him a large cylindrical canister. It was black and had rounded ends. There was a handle on the top, and it was large with a slit in along the length of it. There were also gray-ish rings placed at intervals down the body of the cylinder. It was strapped to his back, and he walked with a casual attitude to stand next to the woman. The whole team watched them carefully, wondering when they'd move.

The man spoke up first, "I'm surprised you figured that out. Most people don't. They just jump into battle, and when they try to use their Semblance and fail......They die with a shocked look on their face. It's quite entertaining." the man said, smiling.

"So that means you intend to fight us?" Nick said, hoping to get them to reveal something, anything that could give them information that could lead to an advantage.

The girl sneered, "No. We intend to use you as practice, then kill you." Jay tried to determine their weapons, but he couldn't see any dust signatures, and couldn't be sure about what he saw.

"Then names. Give us your names." Sasha demanded.

The woman's face turned aggressive, "Don't talk to me like that, you little bitch!!" she shouted.

The man put his hand on her shoulder, "Calm down. It's not important." it seemed to calm her down significantly.

Jay couldn't stand this. He couldn't see....His eyes had lost their power, and he was being threatened. Treated like a doll to train on. He glanced around at his teammates. It appeared to effect them to. Anna was calming herself, confidence coming to her expression. Nick looked like he was flexing his arm and shoulder, trying to loosen up. But Sasha.....Sasha appeared only tense. Jay understood that though. Both of them relied on their Semblance, a lot. Which puts them at a disadvantage. But that didn't matter. Their teammates were here. They could rely on them and their skill. They would give no warning, and no quarter. Nick was the first to move. He ran forward, straight towards the duo. He pulled free his sword, and the two opponent's spread out. They two immediately began to spread out and move in two different directions. The man moved back and pressed a few of the triggers on the handle of his large canister, in  sequence, and from the slot on the handle came a series of needles, which he caught in the handle as Nick closed in on him. He switched the hand in which he held the container, and threw a few of the needles he held. The flew towards Nick, who had to stop and raise his arm to they would simply skip off of the metal arm. He looked down at them, but didn't have time to look them over, because the man had continued to press the triggers in sequences, and was hammering Nick with a barrage of needles through which, he couldn't break through to get close. Jay came up next to Nick. They shared a glance, and and they began to move in sync, to to try and get close. Jay clipped the bayonet endings on to his tonfas, and they moved in opposite directions. Jay began to shoot towards the man, and he grabbed the handle of his large metal container and began to swing it around him like a club, deftly blocking the shots. Nick switched to the Ice canister, and shot towards the man. He didn't want to be his by that, so he leaped to the side. Both Nick and Jay saw an opportunity, and began moving in. He began to throw his needles again, but Jay moved into the path, and blocked them with his left arm. They sting into his skin, and Jay was ready to shrug it off, but then a pain took his arm, burning the length, making him feel like his arm was on fire. He had to close his eyes as Nick jumped clear over him, and moved in for close combat. Jay moved to the right, ready to give support when he saw his chance. Nick swung his black sword over and over, but the man dodged and dodged, carrying the large cylinder like it wasn't heavy at all. He then began to counter, swinging the thing again. Nick blocked his attacks with his metal arm, but the man suddenly jammed a needle into his metal arm. Nick shouted, and swung again with his blade, but the man ducked back and moved to swing. But Jay slid down in front of Nick, and swung low with the bayonet, forcing the man to jump over his attack. Nick reached forward with his metal arm and grabbed the container. The man refused to let go, and so Nick turned and threw them both to the right. He didn't go very far, and landed on his feet. Jay stood, and realized there was blood on the ground. He pulled his sleeve back and found to wounds from earlier. For some reason, the wounds had expanded, and continued to bleed.

Jay's eyes widened, "Poison?" he muttered. He got it now....He understood everything once again. He looked over at Nick's arm, which looked like as though he was loosing control of it. Why would a poison work on that arm? Why didn't the needle break? The other ones snapped and just chinked off of his arm. "Listen up Nick. Those needles have an array of different uses, I think....They're also varied in size shape and probably metal. He has metal piercing needles and a whole lot of neurotoxins....So let's be careful. My Sight isn't working, so I'll have to be careful and stay in line of sight. You have to be careful to. You're loosing use of that metal arm right now, and you can't heal...." Jay said quickly, while the man stood and waited patiently for them to finish their conversation.

Nick didn't flinch, "I love a challenge." he said simply. 

Sasha struggled to move quickly with her incredibly heavy sword. She'd trained to use her claymore without her strength, but it was still difficult. She swung wide arch's, trying to keep a hold on the blade, and with every swing, the blonde woman continued to dodge around Sasha, as though she was dancing. Anna intervened, swinging her poleaxe with great skill, but the woman didn't seem fazed, leaning all the way back to touch the ground, ducking Anna's wide swing. Anna twisted the staff around her arm, bringing the blade up through the air, she flipped left, kicking Sasha in the face, and knocking her back. The woman hadn't reached for any weapon, nor did she appear to have one.

 The blue colors on her shirt shifted like water, and she laughed sadistically, "Oh you poor little bitches......You can't handle me. I'm gonna tear you apart, and there's nothing you can do about it." Anna's eyes narrowed. She was quickly getting annoyed with this woman's attitude. Sasha and Anna stood side by side. Sasha ran forward, and the woman didn't even move until she got close. Anna ran forward after her, to provide support. Sasha swung as hard as she could downward, but the woman dodged and jumped easily over her, landing on the other side. The blade landed in the ground, and Sasha used it's weight as a focal point to turn her body. She pulled the blade from the ground and used the handle to block an open-palmed strike. The blow hit the base of the handle, and blue sparks flew as the blade was knocked back, and Sasha with it. 'What the hell was that?' Sasha thought as she stumbled back. Anna had reached her, and the poleaxe had switched to the long-sword. She began to attack ruthlessly, not letting up. The woman's face turned to a sneer as she danced more and more out of Anna's way.....And right into Sasha's. Sasha swung, being careful not to get to close to Anna's swings. The woman looked like she was having a hard time avoiding their swings from both sides of herself. She dodged both of their attacks and back flipped in the air to land behind Sasha. Sasha moved forward, followed by Anna, and the woman flipped back, jumping off of her hands, back onto her feet, Sasha put her foot forward, ready to catch her as she landed, and finish this stupid game they were playing.....That is until she slipped. Her foot his something solid and smooth.....Too smooth. Her foot came right out from under her, and she fell back, her blade moving back towards Anna, who immediately had to stop and put her blade up to block Loachsamhail as it fell on her. Anna fell back, as Sasha fell back, her shoulders landing on Anna's knees. They looked over as the woman came to stand over the two of them. The woman hadn't even retrieved a weapon, and she had them both on the ground. She had a viscous smile on her face. She raised her hand, palm open towards them, and the patterns on her shirt began to glow brighter. Sasha didn't wait for her attack and raised her claymore up. She pulled the trigger, over and over again. The woman blocked the shots with just her hand, which didn't seem to take any damage, but instead sparks of blue crackled off of her palms with each shot. But the shotgun on her claymore was very powerful, and with each shot, she stumbled back, farther and farther. Sasha and Anna stood, and recovered themselves. They weren't sure what they would do now though. Nothing they were doing was working, and they still didn't know what kind of weapon she was using. Sasha and Anna crouched, readying themselves to fight.

* * *

 

Anna swung towards the woman with all her skill. She continued shifting the axe from hand to hand, twirling it by the long staff like a baton, twisting it around her neck and shoulders, catching it in her palms, and swinging. But the woman was fast. She danced this way and that, moving as though she was gliding, and moved from the path of each individual strike. Sasha stood back, and took a shot every now and then, through Anna's formation.  But even these didn't seem to have any effect on the woman, who'd already discerned their patterns of movement. She picked apart Anna's wide spread defenses, moving right up to her. She swung at Anna, bringing her open palm hard across her face. The slap was very clear to hear, and Anna stumbled and fell back. It felt as though Ms. Goodwitch had just struck her across the face with her riding crop. Her head spun and everything was fuzzy. Sasha stared in dis-belief as the woman jumped back and giggled. She looked over at Anna, who was still slightly dazed. Even from the distance they stood apart, Sasha could clearly make out the red hand-print across Anna's face.

The woman muttered under her breath, "Faunus whore...." Sasha's eyes widened in anger. Suddenly she remembered every terrible thing anyone had ever done to her....Every little torment she felt bubbled to the surface in anger. Her heart beat faster as her body was renewed with adrenaline. She could feel her heartbeat, and she ran towards the woman, filled with fury. Her strength returned, as she leaped up, easily  heaving Loachsamhail behind her. The blade came down hard, with all her anger in the swing. The woman dodged to the left, her smile fading. The blade crashed into the ground, smashing away dust and dirt in a wave-like cloud. She yanked the sword free and raised it to point at the woman in one hand. She began to shoot towards the woman, who had to block the high power rounds, just as she did before. But Sasha had caught her slightly off balance, and she stumbled a little with each shot. Sasha marched forward with determination, each shot pushing back her opponent. But the woman suddenly ran off to the side, moving away from Sasha. Sasha watched her move and timed her own dash to move in front of the woman, who had moved towards Anna. She slashed and the woman stumbled. Anna, now recovering her bearings, jumped over Sasha and brought her axe, now transformed to long-sword, down on the woman. She gritted her teeth as she clapped her hands over her head, catching the blade between her palms. She fell, landing on one knee, only one foot still on the ground. Anna kept pressing down, not letting up. The woman's eyes narrowed at Anna before she closed them, and the design on her shirt began to glow. But then, Sasha coughed out blood, and collapsed behind Anna. Anna gasped and turned to her, and the woman took the opportunity to throw Anna's sword to the side, and move up towards her. She swung, this time with her fist clenched, and struck Anna, who was nearly thrown off her feet behind Sasha. She fell to the ground, and looked over as the woman raised her hands above her head, looking down at Sasha. She couldn't move, and could barely even look up at the woman as the designs began glowing again, and her a frigid mist came from her hands. Sasha had fallen do to an overuse of adrenaline, that had caused her heart to beat irregularly for a short period, and she couldn't breath. The woman was ready to finish Sasha off, even as Anna stood, and tried to come to her rescue...

The man with the needles began to click away on the triggers, and more needles came out as Jay and Nick moved forward towards their target. They weaved this way and that, dodging as the man threw them in swarms. Jay moved in, blocking them with the bayonet endings, and taking swing after swing. The man took his large container, dodging this way and that. Jay gritted his teeth, and dodged as he swung it like a club. 'This is difficult,' he thought, 'without my Sight, I can't read his moves well. It's hard to predict that thing's area....' Nick lifted his arm with the last of his control, and emptied the ice canister in a single shot. He raised the large container in defense, and the blast struck it. The whole thing, plus his hand was frozen in a great block of ice that held the canister in place. The man's eyes widened as Nick leaped over the large block of ice. He landed on one side of the man, and began slashing at him with his blade, his prosthetic arm to move, limp at his side. The man couldn't dodge, lest he risk loosing his arm, so he bit the bullet and grabbed the blade in his hand. Blood rolled off of the blade, over his fingers and down to his wrist. Nick smiled as he pushed the blade more, so that the man couldn't let go. Blood continued to flow from his hand. Jay moved to his position, and began to shoot at the man from a good vantage point, so he wouldn't hit Nick. But the man wasn't done yet. He tightened his grip, and raised his leg, shoving it into Nick's stomach. The kick threw Nick back, but the man didn't let go of the blade. He then flipped it through the air to catch it by the handle. In his bloody grip, he deftly cut through Jay's attacks. Jay gave up long range and went in close. He slashed with the bayonet endings, but his movement was limited. Jay was used to being able to move in circles around his opponents, but with that huge block of ice, Jay could only stay in position and attack. But the man was incredibly adept, even with limited range. But that didn't matter. Jay smiled as Nick came up behind him, and wrapped his one good arm around the man's neck.

"You didn't forget about me, did you?" Nick whispered menacingly into his ear as he dropped Nick's sword. Jay took the opportunity, and stabbed towards him, Nick tightening his grip. But suddenly, Nick's eyes widened, and he released his grip, weaving under the man's arm, and in between he and Jay. Jay stopped his attack, as Nick grabbed his sword from where it had been dropped, and ran off towards the other fight. Jay tried to recover before his opponent, and jabbed towards the man again, but the man wouldn't fall so easily. He easily grabbed the bayonet ending in his still bleeding left hand, and yanked forward, jamming the blade into the ice, and pulling Jay forward off his feet. The ice cracked, and shattered as he pulled the needle container free. He didn't waste even a second in swinging the thing at Jay, who could only put his arms up to defend his chest as the metal slammed into him. The force lifted Jay off the ground, and he flew back, his tonfas interacting with his aura to repair dents in the chambers. He landed hard on his back, and gasped. He could only barely dodge the needles the man threw before Jay rolled to his feet. He watched the man click the triggers, and take the poison covered needles in his bloody hand.

"How.....How are you holding poison covered needles with an open wound?" Jay stuttered, still trying to regain his breath.

"My Semblance....I'm completely immune to poisons, venom's, toxins, and neurotoxins. I've never been sick a day in my life...." he said simply, seeming very forth-coming. Jay breathed heavily, crossing his arms over his chest in an X, like he always did, but this time in defense. The pain from the earlier poison still wracked his body, and made it difficult to stand in battle. It didn't matter, however. Because just as they prepared to move towards eachother, something happened that drew both of their attentions from their fight.....

* * *

 

Nick ran towards the woman, who was standing over Sasha. Sasha lay with her face covered in blood, and Anna had began to run forward, but she clearly wouldn't make it. Nick bit his lip. If he could only feel his prosthetic arm...He'd be able to take a shot at her. He'd be able to do something. But he feared that he too might not make it in time. He pushed himself to run faster, pushed himself to move farther, faster. A ball of blue dust had formed in between the woman's hand. She was smiling and laughing. Nick wouldn't take this. In one desperate attempt to stall her just a moment longer, he threw his sword at the woman. She heard the whistling as it flew and her smile vanished as she jumped back. The ball of dust fell from her hand. It struck the ground and from it, ice started to shoot out in viscous spikes. The ice began to form more and more, spreading out, towards where Sasha was on the ground. 'Those spikes would kill her if they reach her.' Nick thought, and finally got close enough to stand in between the ice and Sasha. He pulled up his arm, and yanked open the wrist chamber. Quickly, he pulled out the fire canister, and slammed it against the ice. The following explosion through Nick clear over both Sasha and Anna. He hit the ground and nearly choked, unable to breath. The ice shattered, causing both Jay and the man with the poison needles to look over at them. Nick didn't stay down long, and quickly jumped to his feet, and manually pulled the lightning canister to the front, and yanked it out. The woman had come to her feet, and was beginning to move forward, her anger becoming evident, as she moved back towards Sasha. Nick narrowed his eyes, and threw the canister towards the woman. She dodged it, and it struck a tree behind her. The canister shattered, and through the trees, a huge bolt of lightning rained through the tree canopy. It struck the tree where the canister had hit, which was still flickering wildly with bolts of electricity. The tree caught fire nearly immediately. Jay turned back to the man, who had taken his cylinder, and began running towards the woman.

Ignoring completely Nick and their team, he put the cylinder down, and grabbed the woman by the shoulders, "Time's up, Iskelle. We have to get out of here. That lightning bolt probably alerted Beacon professors to our locations. We can't waste time here...." The woman, apparently named Iskelle, looked up at the team with fury evident on her face.

"Shut up, Leif. Just let me kill them. It won't take long. Just let me finish these bitches." she said through gritted teeth.

Leif, as she'd called him, shook her by the shoulders, "No, we don't have time....We have to stay ahead of Beacon's eye. We get out of here now. We can't let them get that close to us, not yet. We still need time." he reached back and grabbed his cylinder, and pulled her by the arm into the woods. No one on the team could even stop them.

Nick fell back, sitting on the grass, still breathing hard from being knocked back by the explosion. Anna had walked over to Sasha, and knelt down to examine her. Jay walked over, having sheathed his weapons, still clutching his chest, where he could feel the pain from the poison

. "How's she holding up...." Jay asked, and Nick looked up, awaiting the answer. Anna continued to examine her, opening her mouth to check her throat, feeling her wrist and neck for a steady pulse, and removing her shoes to look over Sasha's extremities.

There was no sign of any issues, at least not that Anna could see, "She'll be fine....Just needs some rest, and lots of water." Jay shook his head. 'That's always a good fix, isn't it.' he thought. Nick sighed a clear sigh of relief.

Jay looked over at him, "Good move, with the lightning canister......Bad move with the fire canister......Fucking awful move, leaving me to deal with uh......Leif, I think it was, on my own." Jay said to him, a little annoyed.

Nick looked up at him, "You know what  **your** mistake was?.....Being a little bitch..." Nick retorted. Jay rolled his eyes, not even fazed by Nick's constant barrage of cursing. He walked over and offered him a hand. Nick grasped it with his right hand, and Jay pulled Nick to his feet. Jay stumbled, and Nick caught him, holding him up, Jay's arm over his shoulder. The poison was causing Jay more pain, and he could barely speak properly. Only Nick and Jay went to get the professor, who had in fact been running to their location after seeing the lightning bolt. Professor Oobleck came up next to Anna, and looked down at Sasha. He handed Anna his coffee cup, and lifted Sasha up. They began to move back towards Beacon. Jay had began to get lightheaded at the poison, and every now and then muttered something about a shadow, and before he would let anyone take him back to Beacon for an antidote, he became quite insistent that they gather the sap that the team had acquired, and bring it back with them. He stumbled away from Nick, nearly tripping right into a tree, and began babbling about the sap. Nick laughed and carefully pulled out his scroll, hoping not to let Jay see him record his ramblings. He stood, supporting himself on the tree he'd nearly hit, and pointed at the sap, saying they had to take it. It was very important that they take the sap. The sap was of import. He continued for a good two minutes before Nick finally stopped laughing, and asked one of the other teams to help carry their sap with them to the school. Jay was silent after that as Nick helped him back to Beacon.

* * *

 


End file.
